Initially, brief 01 appeared to be rather daunting, as it
required me to leave the comfort zone of the college. However, I soon came to realise
that it was a very straightforward brief. Conducting the creative report allowed
me to refine and realise my creative ambitions, concerns and interests. Contacting
numerous creative professionals was a great experience for me, as I had never
done it before. It taught me a lot about communication and boosted my
confidence. It has given me great insight into the design processes of other
people that share similar creative concerns and interest to me, as well as
furthering my understanding of domestic and international creative industries. Creating
the report was a positive experience as I was able to learn a lot about
communication and general attitudes towards visual culture along the way. Learning
about the way other creatives operate has filled me with inspiration and
ambition, aiding me to set realistic goals for my practice for the remainder of
the course and for life after college.
Deciding who to get in contact with was quite challenging,
as I admire such a varied number of contemporary creative practitioners. I
began my process with research, looking through my Instagram and Tumblr accounts,
looking for people that really interest and inspire me. I was seeking to get
into contact with people that were located closely geographically. I saw this
brief as a great opportunity to form a relationship with a practicing
designer/artist to potentially develop a rapport with them, gain further
contacts and open up discussion about the possibilities of collaboration and
work placements.
In order to secure a reply, I contacted several practitioners
using email as my main tool. In hindsight this was the worst way to go about
starting a project like this, and I have definitely learnt that this is the
least effective way of grabbing someone’s attention. I was fortunate to receive
replies from Supermundane, who was an absolute joy to talk with. He had an extremely
open and friendly attitude and gave me some solid advice and tips on how to
stand on my own feet when graduating with a creative degree. It was really
exciting to be talking with such a prolific, talented person that I had been
admiring for a while. I very much enjoyed formatting our conversation into a
publication.
Alongside the report, I found the process of research very
stimulating and fulfilling to my evolution as a young designer. I constantly
engage with creative culture through reading books, magazines, creative blogs,
social media and visiting exhibitions, shows, events and just through having
friends who are interested in similar themes and areas of culture. A highlight
of 2016 so far has been attending a talk from the director of Anorak magazine.
It was great to get to learn about the concepts and ethos of such an original publication.
Supermundane collaborated a lot with the magazine in its early stages, so it
was nice to see how it had grown since its creation 10 years ago.
Overall, I have found brief 01 immensely engaging and useful
to my personal development. It has greatly improved my confidence in terms of
communicating with professionals and asking useful questions. I aim to contact
many more practitioners and studios over the summer to continue building up a
useful network of creatives to guide me through the process of entering the
creative industries in roughly a years time.
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